Rising Shadow
by Shadowstep1
Summary: After the traitor incident, the new Listener of the Black Hand makes plans to rebuild the fallen Brotherhood and send it into its Golden Age. My first, R & R. Also, even if you enjoyed the first chapter, suggest ways to make it better and what to fix.
1. Chapter 1

It was quiet, Phillip looked up from his book in the common room. He noticed that the new recruits were being cautious, around him. No doubt they would be nervous around the Listener himself. It had been almost two months since he had returned to the Cheydinhal sanctuary, and they were surprised to see him. Phillip, although being the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, had not been lately keeping up with his duties. After being proclaimed Champion of Cyrodiil he began to travel throughout Tamriel. Along his travels in Morrowind however, he met the Nerevarine, who he knew was now the Grandmaster of the Morag Tong. After a private meeting with one another, they became friends. The Nerevarine, who did not see why the violent and bloody war between the two guilds should continue, offered that he become a part of the Dark Brotherhood, while Phillip himself, would become part of the Morag Tong. Through negotiations, together they ended the hateful rivalry and became leaders of the opposite guilds themselves. It was the first step Phillip made to rebuild the Black Hand.

_______________________________________

While travelling back into Cyrodiil, they met a man by the name of Will. Will's skill with the bow was legendary, as was his skills as an assassin. After demonstrating his skill, Phillip offered him the title as Speaker, of the Dark Brotherhood. After giving the offer some thought, Will accepted. They continued on their travels, till they were near Cheydinhal.

"Home" said Phillip.

_______________________________________

They passed through the gates, it was near midnight.

"Its about time" said the Nerevarine.

"Lets get to the sanctuary" said Phillip.

By the time they had gotten to the Black Door, they were weary. Phillip gave them a quick tour, and led them to his chambers, where there would be beds for each. When they awoke the next morning, it was apparent that the rest of the sanctuary had no knowledge that their Listener had returned. As they made their way down the dark hallway out into the common room, everyone looked up in genuine surprise. What surprised them even more so was that he had others behind him.

"Where have you been, and who are they?" Arquen made a sweeping gesture.

"They are the new Speakers of the Black Hand and you will show the respect" Phillip said while throwing her a vicious glare.

The Nerevarine and Will smirked at Arquen. She stood, trying to calm herself, but trying was as far as she got. Arquen stormed out the room while Lucien came from the corner to greet them.

"Phillip, how good it is to see you. Things have been slow at the sanctuary. I see you have also brought new members of the Black Hand" He said.

"Brothers, this is Lucien Lachance, a Speaker as well" Phillip said.

"A pleasure to meet you brother Lachance, I am the Nerevarine."

"It is an honor, to meet you Lucien, my name is Will."

"And to you brothers" Lucien said.

"Now that we're all acquainted, we need to make plans to find a final speaker for the Black Hand. Contracts need to be fufilled. Im sure Vicente cannot find enough members for all of them." Phillip said.

"Agreed, but honorable Listener, we already have four Speakers..." Lucien trailed off.

"Arquen does not deserve the title of Speaker when there is someone that has more skill and respect for the Listener, I demote her to the rank of assassin" said Phillip.

___________________________________

Arquen lay on her bed in the living quarters. She was furious at the Listener. How dare he shirk from his responsibilities by disappearing for months at a time and then demote the only person who had been making sure the contracts get done?! She calmed herself and moved on to other thoughts.

Davir was nervous. This was going to be a tough one, many dark brothers and sisters had fallen before his target and the man was constantly on the move, he never stayed at an inn or sat in a park, he was always moving. Whenever he slept he only did so in a secure area. Davir could hardly keep up with him. More than once he felt that his target knew he was there, knew he was being followed. But he could never be sure, and Davir was sure to use that advantage to its fullest extent. It was almost midnight and Davir could only assume that his target was asleep and that this might be the only chance he would receive for awhile. He crept slowly from one building to another. The inn was close by. There were Imperial troops staying at the inn, so he would not be able to stay the night. He would have to kill his target and make his escape. There was an inn farther down the road, if he was lucky the troops would not search that far, if they did, he would be posing as a traveling merchant from Bruma in search of ingredients only found south. He opened the door to the inn. It was poorly lit and the only source of warmth seemed to come from the fireplace. He spotted the innkeeper.

"Hello sir, how are you this evening?"

"Fine, and how are you?"

"Doing fine."

"Need a place to stay for the night, its awful cold out there."

"Sorry no. But some food would be great."

"Wonderful what would you like?"

"Some venison and a bottle of ale would be fine sir."

The innkeeper served him what he asked for and went back to his own business but not before making sure that Davir liked his food. Although the food didn't look appealing at all Davir simply shoved it into his mouth and continued to appear as normal as a man could be traveling through the woods at night. Davir left the inn and waited behind it. He waited for around an hour till it was almost midnight and quietly slipped back in. He noticed stairs that led to a larger part of the inn to the right and silently crept up them. There was a rope that when pulled revealed another staircase that led to the private rooms. There were three rooms. He picked the first, there was no one in the room, the second room however, was occupied. He slowly closed the door and cast a quick silence spell at it. He saw his target lying peacefully on the bed. _Somethings off… No protective spells on the door? _ Davir sneaked slowly to the bed, and pulled the ebony dagger from its sheath. He made one quick motion at the wizard's throat. The peaceful figure disappeared. _By Sithis…_The wizard had been behind him the whole time, waiting in the corner.

"I knew it, now you'll pay!" said the Wizard.

"Right." Davir said.

The wizard charged at Davir and pulled out his own daedric dagger. He made a sweeping motion. Davir easily dodged it by ducking. He quickly grabbed the wizard's wrist and forced his own dagger into his stomach. Davir then spun and kicked the wizard where the dagger still pierced him. The wizard landed about eight feet from Davir. He quickly covered the distance and threw up his ebony dagger before he swiftly brought it down right into wizard's throat, silencing him forever. Davir stood up, just as the silence spell wore off. It was over, the contract had been fufilled. Now all he had to do was make it look like a suicide. He sifted through the wizard's bag and found his journal. He studied it for a few moments then brought out a piece of paper and began to write, copying his style down to every last detail. When the note was done he removed the daedric dagger from the wizard's stomach and fit it into his throat, with that he placed the man's hands firmly on the dagger. Davir cast an invisibility spell on himself along with a Detect Life spell. When he was satisfied that no one was awake he replaced everything as it was. He closed the door and replaced the locks. He fitted the movable staircase back into place, crept slowly down to the main area and took his leave.

_______________________________________

Davir dropped down in the well, he sneaked into the living quarters and found his bed empty. He placed his things in his chest by the bed and climbed into bed, he fell asleep almost instantly.

Davir woke up startled. Standing over him was Antoinetta Marie, Gogron, and Teinaava. Atoinetta Marie hugged him quickly.

"Welcome back brother!"

"Off!" Said Davir.

"Leave him alone Atoinetta, welcome back brother of the night" said Teinaava.

"Hey brother"

"Hello dear brother" Gogron said.

"Hello."

"The Black Hand is here and Arquen got demoted to the rank of Assassin!" Teinaava said.

"Really?" said Davir.

"Yes, they are in and out of the sanctuary, fufilling as many contracts as they can, to make up for being away for so long. You might see Lucien, or the Listener himself if you get lucky."

"Wait, the Black Hand was mostly eradicated, who did the Listener put in their place?"

"While he was out traveling he found the Nerevarine, the Grandmaster of the Morag Tong. They made an agreement, and our Listener is also the Grandmaster, while the Nerevarine is our Speaker. They officialy ended our bloody rivalry."

"Who else?"

"A legendary archer and assassin by the name of Will."

Davir thought about these new changes to the Brotherhood. Teinaava after awhile said he had a contract to fufill and bade Davir farewell for now. Davir after an hour left the living quarters to rest at the common room and speak with Vicente about his next contract. Ocheeva was surprised to see him again and they shared a few stories about old contracts before Vicente entered the common room.

"Hello dear brother, my last contract was a success."

"I see, well good for you. I'll see if I can't find another for you, or do you wish to relax for the time being dear brother?" asked Vicente.

"No, I want another contract if you could."

"Not a problem, come back in a few hours if you would, oh and I assume you met the contract specifications?"

"As always Vicente." Davir smiled, Vicente could put anyone at ease, and he suddenly thought that that was a paticularly handy skill in both senses.

An hour later Davir was in Vincente's quarters waiting for the contract patiently. Davir had never really taken in all of the sanctuary's little details because he had been away on contracts most of the time. He noticed the gloomy hallways, the tapestries with the symbol of the Black Hand, and the dankness of the stones. Vicente came only a few moments later. After Davir had given him a summary on how the contract went, Vicente presented him with his next contract. An old Dark Brotherhood member had been sent to Skyrim long ago to assassinate a Morag Tong Knower. The Morag Tong Knower was to execute a Dunmer named Tular Cetun. While in Skyrim the assassin renounced the Brotherhood, betraying its secrets. Davir was to track him down and murder him. The Nerevarine, was also sending a Morag Tong Agent as well to finish what the Morag Tong started thirty years ago.

"Vicente, I am to work with, a Morag Tong?" said Davir.

"Only for now." _The sooner you embrace change, the more you will come to understand and know throughout the world. _"Remember, you work together, treat him as you would your own brother.

"Yes dear brother."

It took Davir a week to get to the border, this was where he would be meeting the Morag Tong agent. Davir decided to stay at the local inn. It was relatively low key. The inn itself was poorly lit and the tables spread out so you could not hear anothers conversation. The floorboards were dark with age, and creaked with each step so those only trained in the art of stealth would not make a sound. The innkeeper was a kind old nordic woman who knew the comings and goings of many citizens in the cities. Davir watched the door but was always looking to the sides though one would not be able to see it because of his black hood. It also did not stick out for it was normal to wear hoods in such cold weather. He saw the agent approach though to any eye trained any less would not have suspected. The agent calmly sat at the table.

"How are you my friend?"

"Doing well, and yourself?" asked Davir.

"Fine, onto business then?"

"I suppose so, my target is a traitorous member of the Dark Brotherhood. I was told yours is not only the traitorous Tong assassin, but also a Dunmer that goes by the name of Tular Cetun?"

"Yes that is correct."

"The first thing that I think should be done is to track down the Dark Brotherhood member first, he might have found the Tong assassin before he turned traitor. From there your target may know where Tular is but if not he should be easy to find.

"The Dark Brotherhood is smarter than we thought."

"Well tracking down my target should take some time, we might as well get to know each other, my name is Davir." Davir stretched out his gloved hand with a smile, the Tong agent stared at it for a moment, before smiling and taking the hand and shaking it.

"Arsyn Dun-Ahhe."

_______________________________________

They were on the outskirts of the town. There was a Redguard that supposedly had information on the traitor. They found him at the local inn. They paid the innkeeper seperately, and slept in their rooms. They awoke around an hour later. Arsyn picked the locks for the lower level rooms while Davir picked the upper rooms. Arsyn found the Redguard in the third room down the lower level hall. Arsyn cast a strong lasting silence spell at the door and on the walls.

"Get up." said Arsyn.

The Redguard awoke with stir, startled. "What do you want, why are you in my room!?" _Ah, well, it had to happen sometime._

They had beaten him for two hours now. He still had given up barely anything. Davir took out the ebony dagger and made a long curve down his back. He tried to shake it off but it was starting to be too much. Arysn was close to using destruction on him. He was close to death could feel its embrace.. Davir kicked him straight into the wall. Arsyn stabbed him. They started to break bones, he couldn't take it. Davir made a horizontal slash along his stomach. The Redguard threw up. Arsyn kicked him in the face, they had broken around five of his ribs, broken his nose and his arm. Davir punched him across the face, knocking out two teeth. Arsyn cast a minor flare spell while casting a silence spell across the room again. The worse part of it was they were going to use restoration to heal his wounds and fix his bones just to break them again. Davir cast a somewhat constant shock spell, and kneed him in his stomach again while Arysn beat him more. They were getting nowhere.

"Just tell us what we want to know." said Arsyn.

"It will end the pain." said Davir.

"Sorry, but your going to have to find it fr-

Davir, with one small motion placed the ebony blade on the redguards neck and slashed. Still gurgling, Arsyn kicked him over, he then burned the body to rid it of signs of torture. They quickly exited the man's room, and replaced the lock. Quietly they left the inn. Covering their tracks, they left the town to move on to their next source of information. A matronly Nord was said to have known the traitor for thirty years.

The town that they had to slip into was practically a fortress. They needed to infiltrate the town. Davir went to the side, while Arsyn waited on the opposite wall, Davir lured a guard guarding the entrance into an alley, Davir slammed his palm into the guard's lower jaw while Arsyn, in a flurry reached up from behind and cut the guard's throat. Arsyn sneaked back to the other side of the wall and went around to climb the ladder that led to one of the wooden watch towers. Arsyn counted to ten slowly, on ten Davir came around the lower outer wall and fired an arrow that landed right between the left tower guard's eyes while Arsyn snapped the right tower guard's neck. They hid the bodies and dove into the shadows. After ten minutes they scouted out a small inn, and crept inside. To both of their surprise the innkeeper was still awake. They rented two rooms. Both ate as they had had no food for the past two days. The guards were new and corrupt. They forced the town to work and pay heavy fines. A resistance was starting, but this was not Davir's nor Arsyn's problem. Their only concern was the Nordic woman. They slept for a few hours then slipped out of the inn to find the old woman's house. They found it in around ten minutes. Silently they woke her up their blades sheathed. She told them everything they needed to know. After they got their information they placed a poisoned apple on her table. By the time they were ready to find the traitor word had spread that she had passed away.

"We'd better get going Davir, the town guard is sure to be on the alert for whoever killed their men."

"Alright, we'll make for the border near Hammerfell, from there we should make our way to the town of Dragonstar. The traitor is said to be there, in hiding."

"Should we travel along the roads? The town may be out of the way but patrols may be set up along the roads, if so, should we travel through the wilderness or risk a confrontation?" asked Arsyn.

"Traveling along the roads does pose a risk, and any confrontation that occurs will sooner or later be found, leaving a trail to be followed. We should travel through the wilderness, but we must be cautious, I do not know what creatures lurk in those woods."

"Neither do I, but the sooner we leave the sooner we will arive at Dragonstar."

_______________________________________

In 1 week they had covered a large distance. Drangonstar was on the horizon. As they passed through the woods Davir could hear the animals as they ran to avoid him, imperial patrols eyed them warily.

They were either afraid of Davir and Arsyn, or suspicious. As they approached the gate to Dragonstar, the guard stopped them.

"Sorry Sirs, but what business do you have here?"

"We are travelling merchants who lost our way from Skyrim. We would much like to stay at an inn for the night as we have been travelling for a week" said Davir. That at least, was true.

"We also have papers stating the supplies that are to be delivered" Arsyn offered.

"No, its fine, just go on through the gate."

As soon as they had settled at the inn they starting to chat with the regulars. None yielded any helpful information but they did mention that there was a man who was more of a recluse. Rarely did he leave his home and when he did many witnessed him casting an invisibility spell. Davir and Arsyn knew this was the traitor and set about finding where he lived.

Near midnight they were frustrated at having broke into almost every home only to find nothing. They were close to calling it a night when after they had exited a nobleman's house a thief leaped out of anothers' window. He rolled as his feet hit the ground and came up with a fine iron dagger glinting in the moonlight. His eyes showed fierceness and willpower. It took him a minute to notice Davir and Arsyn. In a mere 3 seconds Arsyn had the thief pinned while Davir unsheathed his blade.

"What have I done to offend you?! Let go of me!"

"Who are you?" asked Arsyn.

"My name I will not share with those who I do not trust. While few know me personally, many in these parts know of me by reputation. I am a freelancing thief and from the way you hold your blades with such discipline, and by your armour, I can assume you are with the Morag Tong. Pray tell, why are you here, and why do you even care who I am."

"It is always better to know as much as is possible. Being a master thief, you should be familiar with the phrase as well."

_______________________________________

_Come on, closer, just a little closer. _ Phillip was becoming impatient which was saying something as his patience was something of a legend in the brotherhood. The Nerevarine, Will and Phillip were to assassinate a captain of the guard of Skingrad. He was being escorted by 3 imperial legion soldiers. Will was on a tall boulder while the Nerevarine was hiding in the canopy above where the attack would take place. Phillip stood behind a large tree using his peripheral vision to see around the tree. The escort had reach the killzone. Phillip spun around the tree and cast the spell Electrocution right at the captain stunning him. Will shot an arrow which struck the guard beside him while the Nerevarine dropped down onto both horses and slit the two rear soldier's throats. He then jumped beside the captain's horse and taking the captain right leg swung him into a nearby tree. They heard the sickening crack of a broken spine. The Nerevarine ran up to the tree, while the captain feebly attempt a few swings. The Nerevarine parried them with ease and spun around, bringing Trueflame in a wide arc, decapitating the captain. Phillip sheathed Eltonbrand while the Nerevarine sheathed Trueflame and Hopesfire. Neither knew what Will's bow was called and neither did he care to share the name.

"Alright guys, another contract down and only another 20 more or so to go 'till we're caught up" said Phillip, annoyed.

"Might as well continue, you said the next target was in High Rock right?" asked the Nerevarine.

"Wealthy man hired us out to kill the competition in the area, if my memory is right" said Will.

"Betcha its not" countered the Nerevarine.

Will grinned, "2000 septims sound good enough?"

"Why not?" the Nerevarine said sarcastically.

"Well, Phillip?"

Phillip looked at the Nerevarine with a smirk. "Looks like you just lost 2000 septims."

"Damn it!" He fished out the 2000 and threw it at Will, throwing him off the horse spinning.

They traveled to High Rock, to the City of Wayrest. The Nerevarine reaquainted with Queen Barenziah and her son King Helseth. Phillip and Will watched from the shadows as the greetings were exchanged. Later that evening they stayed at a nearby inn. It was a welcoming sight. A very large lobby took up the first two floors. People sat around most of the tables, chatting away carefree, oblivious to the world around them. Small tables for one or two people were set in the corners for those who kept to themselves or did not want to be heard by others while having a conversation. The innkeepers, an old couple, greeted them with warm smiles that only added to the serenity. The inn itself was grand, with many antiques and odd things that made it unique and above all others. At the surprisingly cheap price of 25 septims, they were given large rooms completely furnished with tapestries and lovely rugs. Mahogany chairs and desks with bookshelves dotting the walls, the place truly felt comforting. Phillip and Will after settling down some, found a two person table in the corner lit only by a small yet bright candle. They began to go over the contract without saying a word to one another for 20 minutes.

"Doesn't look too difficult, but getting into his office might be a problem."

"How so?" Phillip asked.

"The building is ridiculously large, and the oontract said to kill his personal guards."

"And?"

"His personal guards are on each on every floor, to kill them all without raising the alarm before we get to his office will be hard. We know nothing about their individual schedules."

"Then I guess we'll have to do some spying won't we?"

They both walked into the building and surveyed their surroundings. Their target, Garren Filos, had his guards in almost every room. They had gotten their jobs seperately, with Will working on the third floor, Phillip on the first, and the Nerevarine, on the second. The Nerevarine had cast a spell to change his appearance, for he was known too well here and in Morrowind. Their assassination would take place in two days. In the two days they had already been here, they had mapped out the guards routes and when they changed shifts. The first and second floors would be easy, but the third would be the more difficult one, for Will was not only to assassinate the guards and hide their bodies, he also had to assassinate Garren, on his own. After that he would make his escape by leaping from a fourth floor window down to a nearby ally, where he would meet up with Phillip and the Nerevarine back at the inn. Phillip and the Nerevarine would both stay by the front entrance on the first floor to kill any reinforcements that might come.

_______________________________________

They headed back the the Cheydinhal sanctuary in 4 days time. Rarely did they speak. The contract had gone perfect but they had to leave quick as the guards had come rushing in only seconds after they had escaped. In the 4 days they had hauled ass all over Tamriel completing contracts after the one at High Rock. Vincente would be shocked to learn that in 4 days 20 contracts had been completed. All three were exhausted.

They slid down the well's ladder. Vincente was busy discussing something with another brother.

"Ah, Phillip, meet one of the members new to this paticular sanctuary. His name is Davir, and this is his Morag Tong partner, Arysn." said Vicente.

Davir and Arysn walked over to the Black Hand.

"Good to meet you dear Listener and Speakers, as you already know I am Davir and this is Arysn.'

"They brought along someone else too, a thief in fact, and a very skilled one. I gave him a contract to kill a man with large debts to near every infamous gambler in the Imperial City. It was completed flawlessly" said Vicente.

"Intresting, a thief you say? Maybe we can use him to steal alchemical ingredients from the city."

"He also had a rather intresting idea that you may want to hear."

"Which is?"

"That a very large sanctuary be made in the Imperial City itself"

Phillip suddenly withdrew from the world around him and started to consider the grand possibilities of such a large idea, he started to think of time and place, who should he choose to start building it, who should be allowed to enter such a place. What should he stock the place with, what weapons and armour, poisions and ingredients. How would he decorate it, would he have defenses and chambers? They noticed his sudden withdrawl and sat him down in a chair and all began to wonder of the possibilities.

______________________________________________

_5 months later__._

The Grand Sanctuary of the Dark Brotherhood, had been completed. The sanctuary itself was so large it was underneath the entire Imperial City. The main area was under the Imperial palace, most likely the largest common room in all of Tamriel.

Under the market was where the executioners handed out, signed, shredded, and processed contracts. The area under the Arbortoreum was the living area, it housed all of the new and veteran brotherhood members. Under the Elven Gardens was the armory, it housed weapons only from silver to daedric. Under the Temple district was the Training area, a mass of obstacle courses and training dolls so challenging that even the masters had trouble. Under the Talos Plaza, was the scientific area, where poisons, cures, and other potions were created. These potions ranged from invisibility to increasing ones luck or strength. Under the Arena was the Mapping area and tactical center, in this area, courses and exits, strategies and ambushes were planned. Tapestries and armour, weapons and portraits dotted the walls. Half of the common room itself was one of the grandest libraries one could imagine. In the center of the common room though, was a portal protected by the strongest magic. The portal led to the council room, of the Black Hand. This room however, was really the living area of them. It was an open dimension that they resided in. Because of this, the other sanctuaries were run by the choice of the previous exectuioners that had resided in them. The sanctuary that Vicente and Ocheeva had previously occupied was now run by another executioner.

They were in their portal area, discussing how an Imperial Captain had decided to take it upon himself to kill a member. She had been a slayer and had fufilled her contract but the captain had killed her. Lucien proposed that they send one of their silencers. Davir was currently Phillip's silencer, Arysn was the Nerevarine's, and the thief, whos name turned out to be Pier, was Will's silencer.

"This must be dealt with" said Lachance.

"I agree, but who should we send" asked the Nerevarine. They had been discussing the death of the sister for almost an hour now and he couldn't understand why they were not able to come to a descision.

"Pier should go, it will be intresting to see how this contract will result." This time it was Will who spoke.

"I don't think its fair to give him two tests, he has already passed." Now Phillip spoke.

"But its not another test" Will countered.

"Felt like you were implying it."

"I was not."

"Right."

"Itching for a fight?" A smirk grew on Will's face. "Is that a challenge?" Phillip asked. "Might be." said Will.

"Enough!" Shouted the Nerevarine. "We're not headed anywhere if you two continue to bicker. I suggest that we send all three to do the job, its how we usually do things, why not let them have a go at it."

"Intresting proposal…" Phillip trailed off implying that he was looking for a name. He and Will grinned at each other as they had both been trying to get the Nerevarine to tell them his real name. When they all sat in silence for what had to be 10 seconds, Phillip's expression changed to that of an annoyed one. "Never mind" Phillip said clearly irritated, "It is a good idea, Will? Lucien? Silencers? Any objections at all?"

"No." They all answered together.


	2. Chapter 2

Davir, Arsyn and Pier were on the opposite side of the bridge leading to the Imperial City. Their target was a captain named Gepard Montrose. He had apparently killed their Dark Sister out of revenge for Adamus Phillida. Montrose was to be at the Imperial Prison that night to question one of their former clients. Their mission was simple, kill Montrose, rescue their client, no witnesses. The bonus would only be if no one witnessed the assassination. Davir's part was to inspect the prison area and estimate the most likely times that both of their objectives would be alone seperately. Arysn's was to kill the jailor and free their client. Pier's was to assassinate Montrose. Davir checked outside the window of the Wawnet in Weye.

"Almost time guys, I'd better go do my inspection" said Davir. All three were seated around a small table dimly lit by a almost gone candle. The floorboards were old and creaked when stepped on. A local fisher mumbling about Rumare and his retirement sat in an opposite corner. Each wore a black hood to conceal their identities. It was a cold night, the type of night that the brotherhood loved and moved through. "Where do you want us?" asked Pier.

"On the bridge outside the large doors. When I'm done I'll kill the guard stationed by them, and let you in." Davir looked certain, this would go smoothly and sucessfully. Arysn did not seem so sure. "I do not think that they will stay in the same place for too long, what if they are not where they are supposed to be?"

"Find out where they are then, the Black Hand entrusted us with this mission, we can't fail" said Davir solemnly. "What happens if Gepard is nowhere to be found?" asked Pier.

"Then we do not return to the Black Hand until he's dead." Davir answered.

"The Black Hand has been making us do strange things, why did we have to leave the Imperial City just so we could enter it again?" asked Arysn.

"They believe that we have been slacking, falling out of practice." Davir scowled. "We've been working harder than them ironically." Davir looked out the window one last time. "Its time, remember, one hour."

________________________________________

Davir enetered through the large wooden doors, casting an invisibility spell on himself, he sneaked past the two stationed guards. Picking the tower's entrance took him little over a minute. Quietly he made his way to the left dungeon. There he spotted at least three guards making rounds. After a little while he established that it took fifteen seconds before a guard passed every three cells. With the right timing and patience, Arsyn might be able to slip their client out of the cell with an invisibility spell without killing any of the guards. Making his way back he cast his spell again and crept slowly to the right side of the dungeon, this lock proved to be more challenging than the entrance door. After four lock picks and a very colorful stream of words, the lock clicked open and Davir sneaked in. He spotted Pier's target alone at the jailor's desk, signing a form and sealing it with the royal Septim seal. Davir made a quick note to have Pier steal the parchment after he killed Montrose. After fifteen minutes, Davir sensed that Montrose would not be going anywhere considering that he had a twelve inch stack of forms on the desk. Davir headed back outside, and with two quick and well aimed throws, his knives had silenced the guards before that had even had a chance to see the blades coming straight at them. Retrieving his knives, he cast a detect life spell and found the familiar shapes of his partners on the other side, opening the doors he gave the all clear and informed them of what he had found.

"Looks and appears easy enough, Arysn, each guard passes by every third cell, every fifteen seconds. With the right timing, you might not even have to kill anyone."

"Too bad I'm going to anyway right?" Arysn flashed him a grin.

Davir chuckled, "Pier, Montrose is filling out forms at the jailor's desk on the right side, taking him out from afar might be a good idea but you could secretly place a poisoned apple on his desk, it looks like he hasn't eaten in awhile." Pier looked thoughtful for a moment, "If I poison him, they might suspect that it was of natural causes, but if I shoot him with an arrow it will send a message."

"But, it might also provoke more foolish actions against the Brotherhood." Davir countered.

"Since when have our actions ever not? Besides if we rescue our client, even the Imperials will put two and two together pretty quickly."

"Alright then, but remember, no witnesses."

"As always."

"Arysn, I forgot to mention, our client is on the left side."

"Alright, I'll make sure that he gets out."

"Good."

Two hours later they were back at the Wawnet Inn, they had to maintain their cover by staying there for the night as to not arouse suspiscion. Their mission had gone according to plan, Montrose was dead, an arrow between his eyes. Their client had been rescued and had left for Morrowind where he would keep a low profile for a few months. Not a single thing had gone wrong with there plan. Early next morning they made for the entrance to the grand sanctuary near the imperial palace. By now word had spread that a prison break had been made with three imperial soldiers dead and one inmate set free. Rumor was that it was the Brotherhood's doing and that they had exacted revenge. Davir, Pier and Arsyn were all tired that morning though, and it took them about ten minutes just to find the entrance. They were greeted by their brothers and sisters who congratulated them on the mission.

"We'd better reach the portal, the Black Hand will want to know how it went most likely." said Davir. They stepped into the portal an appeared before their masters.

"Well, how did it go? We've heard the news but not the details." Phillip inquired. He was waiting to see how they would react, how they would explain, and what went wrong.

"It went well Sir, no mistakes, I thouroughly investigated the prison and timed our targets. Assassination was completed perfectly with no witnesses, rescue went according to plan and our client is now safe and hiding in Morrowind. Arysn avoided killing the guards between him and our client and Pier killed Montrose efficiently. I also noticed an especially important form that Montrose sealed with the royal Septim seal and thought that it might be of intrest, Pier recovered it without question."

"Intresting… take a break." said Phillip.

"Excuse me sir?" Davir was confused, he did not want to take a break, he wanted to complete more contracts.

"Take a vacation for awhile, live among the grand sanctuary. Have fun, go out and take a ride and enjoy the scenery." Phillip said with a smirk. He loved to torment his silencer and ordering him to take a break was something Davir absolutely loathed. "Besides, we have a guest you should meet."

"Yes sir." said Davir.

"And that goes for both of you too."

"Yes sir" said Pier and Arysn together.

"So who should I be meeting sir?" asked Davir.

"The new speaker. Nalair, quite a sight actually, she seems to be really intrested in you." Phillip said with a wink.

Davir raised a brow, "Well thank you for the information sir. Does Vicente have anything for me?"

"I believe he does. Go see what he wants to tell you."

"Yes sir."

Davir left the realm of the Black Hand to find Vicente, he found him in the tactical center.

"Well Taroen your target should be traveling the road around the area near Memorial Cave. Southwest of Cheydinhal, if you and your squad position yourselves around the rocks then you should be able to ambush him well."

"Um, Vicente?"

"Yes dear Brother I have been waiting for your return. I heard how magnificent your contract went. A very difficult mission pulled off without a single thing going wrong. Here is your bonus as promised."

Vicente handed him a beautifully decorated bow. It was a powerful daedric longbow that Vicente said was claimed from a plane of oblivion itself.

"It's name is Hatred's Soul."

"Thank you Vicente."

"No thanks are necessary dear brother. There is someone waiting for you at the Arbortoreum. I believe she is the new speaker."

Davir thanked Vicente and pulled on his Black Hand robes and prepared to meet the new speaker. Although he was not part of the Black Hand itself, the Listener felt it was better this way. He carefully went back to his place in the portal dimension and layed Hatred's Soul in a case. After that he took his dagger and left the sanctuary. A half hour later he entered the Arbortoreum, and there on the bench with her hair flowing down past her shoulders was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.


End file.
